Crimping device



Jan. 16, 1940. R ESSELMANN ET AL CRIIPING DEVICE Filed April 1, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 In venfors Paul Esse/mann Karl Kfisslfnger g q il gggfi Paul Safferf Jan. 16, 1940. P. ESSELMANN ET AL CRIIPING DEVICE Filed April 1. 1939 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 MN N Q N In ven fors Paul Ess e/mann k 00 KS mm h p By Their Attorneys Patented Jan. 16, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GBIMPING DEVICE on-the-Main, Germany Application April 1, 1939, Serial No. 265,484 In Germany June 23, 193'! 3 Claims.

Our present invention relates to a device for crimping a torn sliver of rayon staple fibers. This application is a continuation-in-part of our application Serial No. 214,268, filedJune 17, 1938.

Bands of continuous artificial fibers are converted into extensible slivers of staple fibers by cutting or tearing. The individual staple fibers of these slivers, especially when they have been produced by a stretching and tearing process, are quite smooth and in many cases this is very disadvantageous in the further working up of the fibers. Such slivers are diflicult to mix, they have only a low cohesion and frequently break, because they lack the crimped character which belongs, for example, to natural wool.

Attempts have been made to crimp these smooth fibers by means of finely fluted pressure rollers. Devices have also been proposed for crimping these artificial textile fibers, in which the fibrous goods are led from a pair of delivery rollers against a spring loaded blade, whereby the fibers are compresed and crimped. However, such devices have never operated satisfactorily on a commercial scale.

It has also been proposed in the working up of bands of long fibers, such as flax, hemp, jute and the like, to produce a crimping by forwarding the band of fibers by means of a pair of rollers against a yieldable resistance which covers a U-shaped guide trough.- This device cannot be used for crimping a band of artificial fibers, because the fibers are deflected laterally, and, especially in the case of slivers consisting mainly of parallel fibers, become tangled owing to this 35 lateral deflection.

Our present invention has for one object to provide a device in which the delivery rollers, collecting trough and the flap which closes the trough are so constructed as to form a very tightly enclosed space in order that the slivers of cellulose artificial wool, even those in which the individual fibers are of very fine titer, are very uniformly crimped.

Another object of our invention is the provision of extensions on the sides of the collecting trough which fit closely within grooves in the delivery rollers so as to prevent the deflection of parts of the sliver at that place. In the collecting space thus formed the pressure increases 50 owing to the bunching-up of the fibers therein until the adjustable loading of the fiap is overcome by the internal pressure and the fibrous material crimped thereby is allowed to escape.

The degree of crimping can be regulated by ad- 55 lusting the loading of the trap.

ends of the trough (see Figure 2).

(c1. iii-Lee) ing device,

Figure 2 is a partial plan view of the device shown in Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a sectional elevation of a modified form of the crimping device shown in Figure 1,

Figure 4 is a partial plan view of the device shown in Figure 3, and

Figure 5 is a diagrammatical view of the tearing or drafting device including three drafting sets and a crimping device.

In Figure 1, a denotes an extensible sliver of staple fibers produced by tearing, and l and 2 are delivery rollers by which the sliver is fed into a collecting trough 9. The trough is closed at one end by the rollers l and 2, into grooves I a and 2a of which rollers fit the tongue-shaped It has been found advantageous to fix a leather tongue or another elastic packing 6 by means of a screw 1 to the floor 8 of the trough 9 in order to secure a close fit against the lower roller 2. The collecting trough 9 is closed by a flap 3 pivotally suspended between the walls of the trough about the pivot I 0. A lever arm 4 mounted on the fiap 3 carries a weight 5, by means of which the pressure in the trough may be adjusted by suspending the weight 5 from one or another of the notches II.

In a modified form of the apparatus (see Figures 3 and 4), with which equally good results are obtainable, the sliver to be crimped is fed through a U-shaped groove in the lower roller 2 and held in this groove by a corresponding shaping of the upper roller l. The fioor 8 of the collecting trough 9 in this modification engages in the groove of the lower roller, advantageously by means of a leather lining 6, and the side walls of the trough lie closely against the surfaces of the lower and upper rollers. Thus, the-complete closure of the collecting space is also attained in this case.

Several crimping devices of this kind may be arranged in series with their traps similarly or differently loaded according to the kind of crimping desired.

In Figure 5, b is a can in which a bundle of continuous artificial fibers is contained and transported. The bundle is fed to a multiple tearing device comprising, for instance, three sets of rollers l2-l3, l4-|5 and lS-ll. The

necessary to break the fibers in the sliver.

tearing rollers l8,

speed of these rollers is so arranged that each succeeding set runs faster than the preceding set. The rollers l2, l4 and I6 are driven while l3, I5 and I! are kept rotating by the bundle of fibers itself, which engages the rollers with triction. Rollers I2, l4 and I6 may be fluted, that is to say the roller surface may be provided with grooves extending parallel to the axis of the roller. The first tearing occurs between the sets of rollers I2-l3 and l4--l5, the tearing distance being 0. The bundle is reduced to a sliver in which the individual fibers are of comparatively long and uneven staple length. A second tearing therefore occurs 'between the sets of rollers ll-IS and lG-ll, the tearing distance in this case being reduced to 11. These preliminary tearing operations lead to a sliver having a more or less uniform staple length. In these tearing operations the individual fibers are broken with as little damage aspossible since the unloaded rollers l3, l5 and I1 exert only a minimum oi! pressureon the bundle of fibers. The sliver is then led to a further set of I9, 20 and 2|. Again the smaller rollers 20 and 2| are driven while rollers l8 and I9 are adapted to exert the pressure For this purpose the rollers l8 and I9 are held down by the weights 22 and 23. The tearing distance is e, which is still shorter than (1. It has been found that for this short tearing distance the weighted rollers. are better than the drafting devices l2--l3, etc. reduction of the sliver to the desired short staple length. The torn sliver is now led to the crimping device (I, 2, 3, 5, 9 inclusive) described above with reference to Figures 1 to 4. D1 is a can for receiving the crimped product.

We claim:

1. In an apparatus of the character described They ensure a complete a device for crimping a continuous sliver of rayon staple fibers comprising, in combination, an upper delivery roller, 2. lower delivery roller having a U-shaped groove, a collecting trough, the side walls of said trough lying closely against said rollers, the floor of said trough engaging in said groove, a trap pivotally suspended within said trough and capable of closing that side of said trough which is not closed by said rollers, and a lever afflxed to said trap carrying an adjustable weight.

2. In an apparatus of the character described a device for crimping a continuous sliver of rayon staple fibers comprising, in combination, an upper delivery roller, a lower delivery roller having a U-shaped groove, a collecting trough, the side walls of said trough lying closely against said rollers, the floor 01 said trough and an elastic packing afmxed to said floor engaging in said groove, a trap pivotally suspended within said trough and capable of clcxsing that side. of said trough which is not closed by said rollers, and a lever afllxed to said trap carrying an adjustable weight.

3. In an apparatus of the character described a device for crimpingv a continuous sliver oi! rayon staple fibers comprising, in combination, an upper delivery roller, a lower delivery roller having a .U-shaped groove, a collecting trough, the side walls of said trough lying closely against said rollers, the floor of said trough and a leather lining amxed to. said floor engaging in said groove, a trap pivotally suspended within said trough and capable oi. closing that side of said trough which'is not closed by said rollers, and a lever aflixed to said trap carrying an adjustable weight.

' PAUL ESSEIMANN.

KARL KGSSLINGER. PAUL SAFFERT. 

